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SAN FRANCISCO A lawsuit alleging that Verizon Communications Inc. illegally turned over customer records as part of the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program should go forward because of a recent admission by the U.S. spy chief, lawyers argued Thursday.

In a newspaper interview published last week, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell acknowledged that private-sector companies helped the government investigate suspected terrorists in a probe authorized by President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Outrage over the eavesdropping tactics, including obtaining private telephone logs without a warrant, has led to some 50 lawsuits against telecommunications companies and the government, all of which are before U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is also hearing the government's request to dismiss two lawsuits, one filed by customers of AT&T Inc. against the company, and another brought by the now-defunct Oregon charity Al Haramain Islamic Foundation and two of its lawyers, who say the National Security Agency illegally listened to their calls.

The appeals court's ruling in those two cases will apply to the lawsuits before Walker.

McConnell did not identify specific companies that aided the government. However, he said in the interview with the El Paso Times of Texas that the companies that helped are being sued and risked going bankrupt if the litigation is successful and the government doesn't protect them.

It was his first public acknowledgment of the assistance of private companies in the NSA investigation.

Lawyers for Verizon customers seized on the comments during arguments Thursday before Walker. They said the quotes are enough to connect New York-based Verizon to the government probe, and undermine the government's assertion that confirming any relationship with companies would cause "exceptionally grave harm" to national security.

Verizon customers accuse the company of violating their privacy rights by turning their calling records over to the government without a warrant. Their lawyers urged Walker to deny a request by Verizon and the government seeking to dismiss the case.

Echoing a pervasive argument throughout these cases, government lawyers said revealing the identities of surveillance targets and detailing the relationships with private companies would require the U.S. to divulge "state secrets" and hurt national security while fighting the global war on terror.

Walker did not rule on the motions Thursday. He said he likely won't see the parties again until after the appeals court rules on the other two cases.